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Having had a 'staycation' in GB this year we are already planning ahead for our trip to France in July/Aug 2010. We are heading towards La Rochelle / Royan / La Vendee.  We are also considering Portsmouth as we have relatives nearby so we could catch a ferry any time.

So can anyone tell us

a) when do Brittany Ferries start to take bookings for summer 2010?

b) from experience when is the cheapest time to book with Brittany Ferries?

c) Which are best/cheapest BF crossings (don't really want to bother with expense of overnight cabins)?

d) or should we just pay about £50 on Norflokline or use Tesco's vouchers and go from Dover and put up with the longer journey?

Advice and opinions much appreciated.

For the three years previous to this we have left home at 9 am, taken the cheaper afternoon ferry from Portsmouth to Caen, stayed the night just outside the port and then driven down to the Vendee, arriving at about 2 pm. It's been easy and stress free but very expensive, even booking very early (October). This year we decided to go Dover to Calais as we were going down to the Med but found we were level with Caen within 3 hours of leaving Calais and level with Nantes within 5.5 hours. Had we not been delayed for 4 hours at Dover by a computer failure we would have been even further south by the end of day one but we still reached the Med by about 2.30 pm on the second day.

I think what I'm really trying to say is that if you don't mind the driving then you can get a lot further quicker if you drive. However, if time, money and sea sickness are not an issue then the longer ferry routes make the most leisurely and relaxed start to a holiday.

Susie

We have just been to Southern Vendee, last year we did Dover - Calais and teh drive the other end was reasonablyu lengthy. This year we did the Portsmouth - Caen overnight crossing.

We live in Yorkshire so the drive to Portsmouth was easier than the drive to Dover, when you have to do 5 hrs drive in Britain you think carefull about your crossing time!

The overnight crossing was great, better coming back than going because of time difference. I was at the campsite for midday on arrival and we were home by midday coming back. It is expensive but I would do it again and probably will. The afternoon ferries are cheaper but you will then need to factor in an overnight stay on arrival and a smart getaway on departure. My parents came with us this year for some of teh time and they did the afternoon crossing both ways, they said the boat was half empty both ways.

I woudl be interested to know when is best and cheapest to book with BF.

If you don't mind the drive and don't have a million miles to drive in the UK then Dover - Calais is not a bad option. We did the Portsmouth - Caen route simply to cut down on driving time given our UK distance.

Cheers

Simon

Same enquiry but we're looking at it from another direction. We want to cut down the driving as much as possible (from South Yorks) so we're considering getting the ferry from Hull and then going from Belgium (or Holland) to western France and down the Rhone Valley. 

I can;t make much of the ferry web-sites - presumably next year's prices not available yet? Doing a web search suggests that you can ferry to Amsterdam but none of the sites confirms this ...... anyone taken this sort of route? 

Brittany Ferries tell me it will be mid-September for next year's bookings/timetables.

DC

If you use Brittany Ferries try Poole to Cherbourg which is their cheapest route.

harryb